The importance of having your MOT done on time has never been clearer, as a recent Freedom of information request by car advice website Carbuyer has shown that fines totalling £35 million were handed out to motorists over the past year.

It is a legal requirement to have a valid MOT if you want to drive your car on the road, and you can and will get fined if you don’t, as the recent survey showed.

Fines normally handed out are a £100 fixed penalty notice, though up to £1000 fines can be dished out.

You are most at risk of being handed a find if you are driving around West Yorkshire, as West Yorkshire Police, have handed out the highest number of penalties to drivers. The freedom of information act showed that they had handed out 121,000 fines for failure to complete an MOT, beating London Metropolitan Police who handed out 64,0000 penalties.

A spokesperson from West Yorkshire Police told AOL: “Driving a vehicle without a valid MoT is taken seriously. The proactive work that our officers continue to do shows that this is an unacceptable risk and as such anyone found without a valid MoT will be dealt with positively.”

Some of the most common causes of failing your MOT are simple things, like lights not working, so send your car in for a service beforehand to sort out any little niggles, and we will help you get safely on the road.